Best of FAIR 7: The Joseph Smith Papers

What are the Joseph Smith papers? Why are they important? How does the project work? And what does this all tell us about Joseph Smith? In the address from the 2008 FAIR Conference, Ron Esplin gives a behind-the-scenes look at the publication of the Joseph Smith papers. He explains that the project is first and foremost an effort to be like other documentary editing projects that provide materials that historians can use to write about Joseph Smith. He discusses how this is being done and why it’s important. The full text of this address can be found at FAIR LDS.

Ron Esplin is the managing editor of The Joseph Smith Papers project and the former director of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History at BYU. The Joseph Smith Papers, The Revelations and Translations, Volume 2, Published Revelations, can be purchased at the FAIR Bookstore.